A conventional refrigerator includes a display portion such as a LCD panel, through which information on the refrigerator is displayed and the refrigerator is controlled. A user interface is displayed through such a display portion and shows the temperature in a refrigerating chamber, the temperature in a freezing chamber, a service type of a dispenser (water, crushed ice, and the like) in the form of numerals, letters and/or icons. There is provided an input portion such as buttons for controlling the temperatures of the refrigerating and freezing chambers and the services of the dispenser.
FIG. 1 is a view showing the configuration of a display portion of a refrigerator according to a prior art. As shown in the figure, a service type (ice cube, water and crushed ice) of a dispenser, the set temperature in a freezing chamber, and the set temperature in a refrigerating chamber are displayed on the display portion, and an input unit is provided at a lower end of the display portion.
However, the aforementioned prior art has the following problems.
That is, there is a problem in that the related art refrigerator cannot provide a user interface including desired background or characters and thus displays only simple information on the refrigerator.
Further, the related art refrigerator cannot display an avatar character with a variety of figures and/or motions in accordance with the state of the refrigerator or the current time. In addition, there is a problem in that the related art refrigerator cannot provide the refrigerator information using the figures and/or motions of the avatar character.
A display portion of the related art refrigerator cannot display desired background or characters. Further, the related art refrigerator cannot provide a game function that may cause the user's interest. Further, there is a problem in that the related art refrigerator cannot provide information on the health condition of a user and on the caloric intake of the user.
The related art refrigerator can neither determine the presence of the actual failure of the refrigerator nor provide the user with the information of the refrigerator failure. Further, since the refrigerator cannot provide the user with the information on the actual failure, the user should fully read the manual in the form of a book or inquire of a service center about the failure.